"All the affairs of men should be managed by individuals or voluntary associations, and . . . the State should be abolished." —Benjamin Tucker

"You must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself." —James Madison

"Fat chance." —Sheldon Richman

Available Now! (click cover)

America's Counter-Revolution

The Constitution Revisited

From the back cover:

This book challenges the assumption that the Constitution was a landmark in the struggle for liberty. Instead, Sheldon Richman argues, it was the product of a counter-revolution, a setback for the radicalism represented by America’s break with the British empire. Drawing on careful, credible historical scholarship and contemporary political analysis, Richman suggests that this counter-revolution was the work of conservatives who sought a nation of “power, consequence, and grandeur.” America’s Counter-Revolution makes a persuasive case that the Constitution was a victory not for liberty but for the agendas and interests of a militaristic, aristocratic, privilege-seeking ruling class.

Friday, May 05, 2006

Regarding the life sentence imposed on Zacarias Moussaoui, I would like to associate myself with this post at Rad Geek People's Daily. I have nothing to add except that I can't figure out how people who claim to be against government power can also want the state to have the ultimate power -- to kill.

Postscript: I notice that the newspapers gave very short shrift to Moussaoui's statement in court. ("Maybe one day she [a 9/11 victim's survivor] can think how many people the C.I.A. have destroyed their life." "Your humanity is a very selected humanity -- only you suffer, only you feel.") Obviously, there is no possible excuse for the monstrous crimes this man had some hand in. But that doesn't mean there is nothing to learn from his reasons. Have no fear, the Fourth Estate will make sure the fragile American people are well protected from anything but the official version of U.S. foreign policy.

Good riddance to Moussaoui, but maybe it's time we woke up to what's really happening in the world.

3 comments:

I completely agree with you. People make mistakes, and the government makes a lot of mistakes (government is just a group of people). If you want the government to kill, that is final; there is no turning back. If later it made a mistake, too bad! Besides, Moussaoui is dumb, as well as mental. He played no major role in 9/11 (he was in jail when it occured).

I disagree with the "mental" claim. That is just the official way to ignore what he says. His words at sentencing about U.S. foreign policy were not the rantings of a lunatic, but the truths of a fanatic.

A terrorist is [typically] an Arab patriot defending his country and values; an Arab patriot is more willing to die defending his country than most other types of patriots. This can be good and bad: "...better to get your enemy to die fighting for his country than for you to die fighting for yours..." [Patton]

Most or many of the Iraqis dieing in Iraq are because of Arab patriots killing all the collaborators. Occupiers create an effort required to end it: fanatical.

But when some Americans shiver or tremble in fear of this captured patriot it shows they know little on what it takes to defend a country because they don't understand it requires a powerful patriotic effort by citizens willing to die to defend their country.

And the problem is caused by a government that doesn't respect property rights - the US government; if it did it would vacate the Middle East.

The Center for a Stateless Society

CHELSEA MANNING IS FREE!

Recognize

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HT: Roderick Long

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Unless otherwise noted, to the extent possible under law, Sheldon Richman has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to all original content on the Free Association blog, through the CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. This work is published from: United States.

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“Logic and ethics are fundamentally the same, they are no more than duty to oneself.”